In the novel Heart of Darkness the focus is mainly about the situation of imperialism in that time period. It describes the hypocrisy of imperialism, the madness as a result of imperialism, and the absurdity of evil. In reality the book is about much more than that. Marlow is the narrator and throughout the novel his visions and thoughts about himself change greatly as he endures the journey of self-discovery.

In the beginning Marlow feels lost in his life; the main focus in life to him was being a sailor on the steamboat. Marlow is very naïve and has not seen as much of life as he should be seeing in order to expand his overall knowledge of the world. Marlow describes the ship and the ocean as if it was the only thing he had ever seen in his whole life. (Part 1) The fact that the beginning starts with Marlow’s description of the sea, and the facts of imperialism do not start until later indicates that imperialism was not the only reason Joseph Conrad wrote the novel. Imperialism is the policy of extending authority of a nation over foreign countries. In this case Marlow is traveling up the river to the Inner station where he encounters cruelty and torture of the salvages.(Part 1) The men who work for the Company describe what they do as “trade,” and their treatment of native Africans is part of a benevolent project of “civilization.” In reality what they are doing is taking the ivory by force in command to the orders that Kurtz demands. Kurtz knows what he is doing but he makes the other men believe it is not out of cruelty or imperialism. Through all of this Marlow is stuck in the middle because he is blinded by the good that is said of Kurtz and he refers to him as a remarkable man (Part 3), which ends up hurting his relationship with the rest of the company because they know the truth and they strongly disagree. Marlow does not know until the end of the book exactly how mad and narcissistic Kurtz really is and the damage he is doing by trying to get...

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An example of work shown in Heart of Darkness was when Marlow was talking about the native also known as the “fireman” and how good “a few months of training has done for that really fine chap” (48). At this point in the story, Marlow is repairing...

...An Analysis of "Heart of Darkness"
Joseph Conrad, in his long-short story, "Heart of Darkness," tells the tale
of two mens' realization of the hidden, dark, evil side of themselves. Marlow,
the "second" narrator of the framed narrative, embarked upon a spiritual
adventure on which he witnessed firsthand the wicked potential in everyone. On
his journey into the dark, forbidden Congo, the "heart of...

...Chapter 8, the horrors that the Europeans imposed on the indigenous people are uncovered. Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is a novella centered on Marlow, a pensive sailor, and his journey up the Congo River. It gives a remarkably precise and detailed portrait of King Leopold's Congo, as one of the most heinous examples of history. The psychological and moral ideas expressed in Heart of Darkness largely overshadow the historical facts...

...In the twentieth century, nihilistic themes, such as moral degeneration, man¡¯s bestial instincts at the core of the soul, and cosmic purposelessness, have preoccupied many works of literature and philosophy. Joseph Conrad¡¯s Heart of Darkness is no exception. In his novel, Conrad uses a unique writing style to explore man¡¯s fundamental fallibility and moral confusion in an existential world through his character¡¯s journey on the Congo River.
The...

...Heart of DarknessHeart of Darkness is an adventure novel written by Joseph Conrad. It was published in 1899. The purpose of this novel is to display the act of imperialism. The story circulates on Charles Marlow, who narrates the book, and is a salesman in the search of ivory up the Congo River. Heart of Darkness informs the reader of European colonization and its negatives. Throughout this novel the reader...

...Heart of Darkness tells the tale of a man named Marlow and his quest to find the almost mythical figure of Kurtz. Kurtz is a station chief working for a Dutch trading company at the very end of the Congo river. Kurtz, along with the other station chiefs who are working at various stations along the Congo river, are charged to harvest the plentiful natural resources of the large African continent, primarily ivory. Marlow, who is an experienced sailor and river boat...

...Post Colonial Study of Heart of Darkness
Joseph Conrad was a brilliant author. He was actually a Polish author but wrote in English after settling in England. His Heart of Darkness is a famous novel where he wrote about Belgian colonization in Africa. In this novel Conrad recollect the memories of his journey to the Congo. This novel is a reflection of his experience as well as own interpretation. Conrad also tried to travel around the...

..."Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." (The Phrase Finder) In 1887, Lord Acton said this in a letter to Bishop Creighton. This thought appears to be exemplified in the classic tale Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. The above quote by Acton seems to have sprung from another by the French politician Alphonse Lamartine, when he stated that “It is not only the slave or serf who is ameliorated in becoming...